Two Swans
by pitchblackmoonlight
Summary: Remus Lupin gave his heart to a girl many years ago until devastating circumstances tore their relationship apart. In the second Order of the Phoenix, she returns to help fight Voldemort. How will they both cope with seeing one another again? AU


**A/N: This started out as a oneshot but I hope to expand it further, roughly in line with the books but its most definitely AU! OC is mine, but anything you recognise is most certainly the talented J.K Rowling! I do not own the other characters nor do I make any money from writing this, its just fun :) **

**Hope you enjoy, feel free to leave feedback on how you would like the story to go. I have a rough idea, but I'll play it by ear**

His first reaction was to run. The fight or flight response; and flight had certainly taken over him as the best option under the circumstances. Though, he had not bargained in the fact that his feet were glued to the floor, preventing him from moving even a fraction. Her name swirled around in his mind, conjuring up memories of the past, wounds that had yet not had time to heal. His heart was beating so fast he was sure everyone in the room knew how nervous he was, not understanding the reasons behind it. He glanced sideways at Sirius, wondering if he was feeling anything similar after hearing Dumbledore's announcement. Sirius was staring at an unimportant fixed point in the distance, his brows fusing together in a thoughtful frown. Remus was sure that Sirius' sketchy memory prevented him from placing the woman's name with their past, and that currently Sirius was merely trying to understand why the name was somehow familiar to him. Of course, when he saw her face again, his memories came flooding back like a bolt of lightning, hitting him hard in the chest. The only person in the room who was affected more so, was Remus, whose heart was in his mouth, and whose mind could not stop running to form a coherent sentence.

She was beautiful. Breathtakingly so. The sleek wavy chestnut hair, the big chocolate brown eyes, the small pink lips which spread into a wide smile, revealing her perfect teeth. She had tried to come understated in appearance; jeans and a t-shirt. Naturally, her beauty was undeniable, close fitting jeans which clung to her body like a second skin, and a deep purple vest top which was enough to tease the imagination. Isabelle Venti had not changed a bit since Remus and Sirius knew her at school. Except for when she turned her head in accordance with the introductions she was being given by Dumbledore. Many people in the room gasped at the out of place marring on her otherwise perfect skin. Along the left side of her face, three long scars were present, shocking all but one person in the room, who felt the sting of shame and guilt rising in him.

"Of course you will remember Sirius and Remus from school!" Dumbledore exclaimed cheerfully, purposely leaving their introductions till the end.

She seemed uncertain as to how to approach either man, her expression closed and unreadable. Sirius immediately jumped forward and pulled her into a hug, exclaiming how great it was to finally see her again. She responded to the hug and finally smiled at Sirius as he pulled back from her.

"It's good to see you too, Sirius." She replied, turning her attentions to Remus who still was in an utter state of disbelief and uncertainty. "Hey, Remus", she said, so quietly that only those surrounding them could hear. Remus did not know whether the room was watching them intently, or if they had lost interest in the introductions and had begun to attend to their own devices. At that moment, the world was lost on him; there was only her, standing in front of him with tenderness in her voice and emotion in her eyes. His legs finally carried him forwards to her, embracing her warmly by encircling his arms around her slender frame. She tensed for a moment but then relaxed into his arms, inhaling the far too familiar deep masculine scent of fresh parchment and a touch of spice, making her slightly light headed.

Remus finally found his voice only after holding this woman close to him for a few minutes; "hey" he said simply. She smiled into his neck, grateful that none of the anger or self-disgust surfaced in him, replaced only with a genuine sense of contentment in seeing her again. She longed to tell him how much she missed him, to put his hand over her heart to feel how fast it was beating for him. Instead she repeated the words she gave to Sirius, not wanting to trigger any negative response from him. "It's good to see you."

A small fake cough roused them both from their tender embrace, forcing Remus to regain control of his mind and senses, remembering that they were in a crowded room with all faces quietly surveying them with questions etched into their slight frowns of confusion. They let go of one another with a soft laugh from Remus in order to cover up his slight embarrassment.

"The meeting will start now," Dumbledore said loudly, regaining the attention from most in the room. Molly ushered the children out of the room with considerable difficulty due to their protests, and the old headmaster took Isabelle aside to check some details with her regarding her new role as an order member.

"I thought you were never going to let go of her," Sirius muttered to Remus as they took seats at the far end of the long dining table. Remus replied with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulder and put his head in his hands, massaging his forehead.

"I wish Albus warned us she was coming, it was such a shock to see her."

"You're telling me," Sirius replied. "Doesn't help that she looks exactly the same since we last saw her. Well, except from the scar..." He stopped and ran his hand through his shoulder length black hair as Remus sighed.

"She should have slapped me, not hugged me. She should be furious with me."

"Don't complain Moony, she clearly doesn't have an ounce of anger or resentment towards you. So maybe you shouldn't either."

Remus looked at his oldest friend and shook his head. "I couldn't be more guilty and ashamed, Sirius. You heard people gasp as she turned to show the other side of her face."

"I guess they just didn't expect to see it. It doesn't make her look any less beautiful." Sirius said firmly, his voice rising slightly.

"Of course not." Remus agreed quickly. "Nothing could."

* * *

><p>The meeting was a lengthy affair due to a report by Severus Snape on a raid the death eaters were planning on a few particular families of the Ministry, and the death of several muggles during a casual killing spree the previous week. An introduction of Isabelle was once again performed, highlighting the importance of her role within the order, particularly her considerable skills in code breaking, protective ward making and destroying and healing. All the teachers and classmates of hers knew already that she was an extremely intelligent witch, reflected in her remarkable academic performance during her time at Hogwarts.<p>

Remus could not take his eyes off her throughout the whole meeting, oblivious to whether this was noticed by anyone else. All those years since he had last seen her went by like a blur, and every second he spent taking in every visible detail seemed like an hour. Every one of his senses came alive, and after so long mulling in the dark, he felt as though he could breathe fresh air once more.

She immediately came over to them once the meeting was over, and the inhabitants dismissed until the following week.

"This is insane." She said simply, biting her lower lip and looking at the floor. Sirius gave an appreciative laugh, while Remus resisted the urge to place his hand under her chin to draw her eyes to his.

"How are you? How have you been? _Where _have you been?" Remus fired at her, desperate to know everything he had missed.

She smiled, that genuinely flawless smile that reached her eyes and transformed her previously nervous face. "Slow down, Remus." His heart skipped a beat hearing his name coming from her lips. "I left England all those years ago and found myself in France, getting small jobs here and there. I have been living in Italy the last few years. I was a healer but moved to become part of the Italian Ministry of Magic, working in their healing department. Dumbledore found me and asked for my help here."

"Ten years you're going to explain in a sentence?" Sirius raised an eyebrow, requesting more details.

"Pretty much, nothing eventful happened." She avoided Remus' eyes as she said this, feeling his gaze still upon her.

"Remus, my boy! Can I have a quick word?" Dumbledore's voice prevented their conversation deepening. Remus excused himself and left the room with the headmaster, leaving Isabelle and Sirius alone.

"That was some hug." Sirius said immediately as he saw his old friend had left the room.

"I'm glad you liked it," she replied, smiling.

"I didn't mean ours." He tipped his head to the side to survey her closer, as she bit her lip nervously once more.

"So, so many years." Sirius said, plunging his hands into the pockets of his pinstripe suit. "But it feels like yesterday that I last saw you. You look amazing, Izzy."

Isabelle blushed, "thank you. I have to admit, it took me a moment to recognise you; you've changed a lot."

"Yeah, a decade in Azkaban tends to do that to a man." He smiled to show that he was not being too serious. "Did you recognise Remus?"

"Immediately." She replied, looking him straight in the eye and giving away too much emotion through her expressive eyes. Sirius opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the return of Remus and Dumbledore.

"I hope you feel welcomed here, Miss Venti?" Dumbledore said, smiling at her.

"I do, thank you Professor." She returned the smile, and the elder wizard clapped his hands.

"Excellent, excellent! I trust you are happy to get started tomorrow with your duties? I must urge you to get a good night's rest, you will certainly need to be alert in the morning!"

"Of course, I'd better get going."

"Oh, are you not staying here?" Sirius asked, his disappointment evident.

"No, I have a flat in London not too far away," Isabelle replied.

"Yes, yes. Though an apparation point has not yet been set up..." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Remus, perhaps you could walk our newest recruit home, it is unwise to travel alone these nights." He gestured for them to get going, allowing Isabelle and Sirius to say a small goodbye, with the assurances she would see him the following day.

* * *

><p>The air was bitterly cold with a strong September wind, and Isabelle and Remus were left alone as Dumbledore disapparated on the stone steps to the headquarters. He glanced sideways at her as they began to walk in the easterly direction to her flat.<p>

"I have so many things I want to say to you, but I don't know where to start." He said.

She gave him a reassuring smile, "It's been a bit of an overwhelming day for me, so how about you start with something simple and we'll work from there."

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"Everything." He cleared his through against the rising emotion in his voice.

"Everything is a lot for one man to be sorry for."

"Well, I do have a lot to be sorry for."

She smiled once more, knowing him far too well to think he could ever put the negative memories to rest. "It was all a long time ago."

"It doesn't make it okay-" he stopped, noticing her shivering. "You look freezing!"

He immediately shed his coat, ignoring her protests, and wrapped it around her and placing an arm around her to prevent the wind from claiming it. They walked in unison, enjoying the presence of one another once more, until they reached a small block of flats.

"This is me." She said, looking up at the building with a grimace. It was far from the secluded cottages she was used to in France, and the bright and airy villas in Italy.

He stood in front of her, holding his coat together to stop the wind getting through, ignoring completely how numb every part of him was; though it was impossible to tell whether it was the wind or her that caused it.

"I cannot believe you are here. I honestly thought I would never see you again." He looked her in the eye, trying desperately to understand what she was thinking.

"Did that mean you didn't want to see me again?" She asked, not breaking eye contact.

"Quite the opposite." They stood closer now. "I hoped I would."

"Oh, Remus." Was all she could manage to say, falling into his arms for the second time that evening. After a few minutes, he pulled back slightly, his thumb gently stroking the scars on her cheek.

"I am so sorry I hurt you." He whispered.

"I forgive you," she replied. Although he wanted to grab her and tell her that she shouldn't forgive him, that he didn't deserve it, that she should want to hurt him back, he was too overcome with the gentleness in her eyes. So much time had passed, and although they both knew what he did was wrong, they also knew that fixating upon it would not solve anything. She needed him to forgive himself, and he needed to spend every day from then on making it up to her.

He kissed her lightly on the cheek and put his hand on her lower back to help guide her to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"She unlocked the door with her keys and swung it open before replying, "goodnight, Remus."

"Goodnight, Isabelle."

She disappeared into the mundane building leaving Remus holding his coat in one hand, and his heart in the other. With every ounce of strength in his bones he tried to swallow down the feelings that had begun to surface once again as soon as he saw her. As she had said, it was a long time ago, and time is a great healer. Its magic just seemed lost on him.


End file.
